Media office

Alliance of Sporting Organizations and Broadcasters Calls for Saudi Government to shut down pirate channel ‘beoutQ’

Posted Aug 31, 2017

beIN MEDIA GROUP, together with leading sporting organizations and broadcasters, have called for a pirate broadcaster operating as ‘beoutQ’ to shut down its unauthorized platforms that are broadcasting beIN SPORTS’ proprietary media content.

The sports and entertainment network has joined forces with some of the world’s biggest rights holders, including UEFA and LaLiga, as well as an anti-piracy body, the Audiovisual Anti-Piracy Alliance(AAPA), to call for ‘beoutQ’ to cease all of its operations immediately.

beIN MEDIAGROUP has notified the Saudi authorities of this unlawful use of its content and has requested that the Saudi Government take immediate action to investigate and prevent the unauthorized use of beIN’s media content by ‘beoutQ’ or any other unauthorized channels in Saudi Arabia.

beIN MEDIA GROUP holds the exclusive rights to broadcast prestigious major leagues, tournaments and events in the MENA region, which is testament to the strength of its long-standing relationships with major rights holders, as well as the quality of its coverage.

Any attempt to broadcast beIN SPORTS’ media content without permission is both unacceptable and unlawful in all jurisdictions. beIN MEDIA GROUP’s legal team is investigating the pirated IPTV broadcast of its channels and exploring all legal remedies available.

beIN MEDIA GROUP is looking forward to another great season of football and will continue to broadcast the latest and greatest sporting events to the MENA region.

Commenting on this unlawful use of its proprietary media content, Yousef Al-Obaidly, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at beIN MEDIA GROUP, said: “beIN MEDIA GROUP has been made aware of the unauthorized, pirated broadcast of our channels’ content in Saudi Arabia. The broadcast by ‘beoutQ’ contravenes both Saudi and international law on intellectual property rights. We hope that the Saudi authorities will honor Saudi domestic laws, and Saudi Arabia’s international legal obligations, including those under the TRIPS Agreement, to protect and enforce our intellectual property rights to the full extent. We are pursuing all available legal options to ensure our and our rights holders’ intellectual property rights are respected. We are committed to providing all of our customers with the highest quality access to the latest and greatest global sporting events.

Guy-Laurent Epstein, Marketing Director of UEFA commented as follows: “UEFAfully supports thebeIN MEDIAGROUP in taking action against illegal streaming in all relevant territories including MENA in order to stop piracy and the infringement of UEFA’s intellectual property.”

Melcior Soler, Director of Audiovisual of LaLiga added: “LaLiga actively works against piracy of LaLiga content worldwide and fully supports our right holders in fighting against illegal broadcast in their territories. We shall assist beIN MEDIA GROUP, our exclusive right holder in the MENA territories, to avoid the unauthorized broadcast of LaLiga matches by beoutQ.”

Sheila Cassells, Executive Director of the Audiovisual Anti-Piracy Alliance (AAPA) said: “As a valued member of our alliance, we were shocked to hear from beIN about this illegitimate broadcast of the company’s legal content in Saudi Arabia. We urge the authorities there to be strident and expeditious in upholding both international norms on intellectual property, and also Saudi Arabia’s own law, which this directly contravenes. beIN MEDIA GROUP is a trusted partner to dozens of sporting organizations around the world thanks to its long-standing relationships and the quality of its coverage. We stand with them in condemnation of this pirate broadcaster.”